Jesse Malin
Peter Salett
The Damnwells
August 9 2004 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA

    

Finding the Tractor Tavern can be a problem...when we finally found the place I went in and found that the first act was already playing. They weren't bad at all. 

The opening acts were both pretty good. The Damnwells had a really quite a fan base going on. They had a cd out, but I decided to pass on it. After those guys were done I went to set up my camera and moved my way into the front by myself. It was pretty easy considering that everyone wanted to get drinks. There were three tables set in front of the stage. The two on the sides had speakers, and the middle one was empty.

This was my first time seeing Jesse live and my friend told me that he was a great storyteller and performer. Immediately when he stepped out on the stage there was this undeniable presence to him. He had loads of energy. An unsuspecting fan had his poster on the middle table and Jesse came out dancing on top of it. My first reaction was that Jesse would slip and break something thus canceling the show. Didn't happened and he motioned to the guy that he was sorry about that poster.

I love both of Jesse's cds, although I'm quite partial to The Heat. He took from both albums equally. I wish I could give a set list, but nowadays listening to cds only when I'm on the computer (busy), driving in the car, or sleeping I have no clues to song names. What a horrible fan! LOL. My memory's going anyhow. Jesse shared several stories with the audience including how he dealt with the press and fans wondering what punk was like and how come he went "country" on his new album. He also talked about his hometown in New York. That would explain the accent to which he described as being an owner of a pizzaria. He also made several dedications with each song and did a few with just his pianist. The only girl in a busload of guys. What a trooper.

Throughout the night he continued to dance around on the stage knocking over mic stands and standing on tables. It caused the stage hand to run on and off frequently to fix things up for a smooth performance. Jesse even jumped into the audience asking them to sing.

I took quite a bundle of photos (and some video). Most of them without flash, so I'm not sure if Jesse was annoyed or not. There were a few other photographers out in the audience.

What I still don't understand. Goodness, how Jesse could wear a black leather jacket...with nothing underneath. Mind you we're in a small stuffy club on one of the hottest days in Seattle.

After the set I was by the bar where Jesse was hanging out with fans, "You were up in the front" he said to me. I couldn't respond because he gave me a hug and then added, "You need some pins." Then he ran off to get me a couple of his pins from the merch stand and asked me to follow him. I had him to autograph my cd. Of course came the time again of how I spelt my name. That went well and then I asked him to sign my Finger cd. A punk project that Jesse and Ryan Adams doesn't really want you to know about, but highly recommend. "Does it have a cover?" he asked. It did, but I didn't want to carry a record store in my bag. I also have the scatterbrained tendency to switch cd cases around. That's how I lose so many things. 

Concerts are my vacation and I must thank Jesse Malin for a wonderful trip.





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